SpentBatt4e-GAS · Spent batteries as a catalyst for sustainable fuels

To ensure the green transition, fossil fuels must be substituted, especially in the heavy transport sector. Meanwhile, power-to-gas technology is necessary to enable intermittent renewable energy storage using carbon dioxide (CO2) as feedstock to produce synthetic methane or e-gas. Despite the fact that thermal CO2 methanation is mature enough to be commercialized, designing catalysts that meet industrial requirements is still very challenging. This project mainly aims to develop catalysts from the material recovered from spent batteries. Current treatment methods for recycling cause a downgrade of the critical raw materials and additional CO2 emissions. We will study an innovative way of using the cathodic black mass obtained from the direct recycling of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) as a catalyst for CO2 methanation. Thus, this project will not only support the production of renewable fuels, but also valorize the material reuse of waste batteries. Using the synergy between the already mixed metallic materials, we can achieve an ambitious 80-90% CO2 conversion. As there are different battery chemistries (LCO, NCA, and NMC), we will study their suitability for the methanation process. After that, we will optimize the operation conditions for maximal CO2 conversion and methane selectivity using the Bayesian Optimization Structure Search methodology to enhance efficiency. We will also show the environmental footprint of the recycling process of spent LIBs by directly using cathodic black mass as a catalyst instead of using the hydrotreatment recycling process (using Life cycle assessment (LCA)). The supervisor's expertise in circularity for batteries design and LCA, combined with the researcher’s experience with the CO2 hydrogenation processes and catalyst synthesis, will enable the development of a highly efficient catalyst from spent batteries for e-gas production and promote a circular economy for closing the loop.